


Little Toy Guns

by Secret_Life_of_Writing



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Child Abuse, Drinking, Eventual Romance, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 06:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19193896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Life_of_Writing/pseuds/Secret_Life_of_Writing
Summary: Trapped in the confines of her bedroom closet, Violet listens to the arguing of her parents almost every night. Hoping, praying that somehow things could go back to the way they were. "I wish words were like little toy guns."





	1. Loading The Chamber

**Author's Note:**

> I'll add more to this if people like it. Otherwise, it makes for a pretty depressing one shot.

_"It'd be so nice to have a partner for once. I don't know if you can squeeze that into your busy schedule of getting drunk and waking up on the couch hungover at three a.m., but that would be great."_

_"What more do you want from me?"_

_"I want you to be here. For me, for our daughter..."_

_"Can you hear yourself right now?"_

_"I want you to help me..."_

_"Can you listen for..."_

_"I am doing everything..."_

_"Yeah, um-hm,"_

_"..._ _Literally everything._ _Working three jobs is hard enough without having to deal with your bullshit when I come home! How do you think that makes Violet feel?"_

_"If you felt that way why'd we even bother having a child!"_

_"How dare you say that! This isn't her fault!"_

_"Who fucking cares! I'm a man of freedom. This is my house and I can do what I want!"_

_"You don't care about me, you don't care about her. What do you have to say for yourself?! Do you even care?! It makes me sick to my stomach. I can't believe I ever even married you!"_

_"Would you give me a goddamn minute to talk!?"_

_"Oh, sure. Wha-what could you possibly..."_

_"Just give me a second...to GET A WORD IN!"_

_"...have to add to THIS CONVERSATION!"_

* * *

In between the coats in the closet, she held on to that heart-shaped locket. Starin at a family flawless, but it ain't a pretty picture tonight. Her mom and daddy just wouldn't stop it, fighting at the drop of a faucet.

She came here often to get away from the fighting. Their yells muffled through the clothing and thin drywall that made up the closet in her bedroom, but each word was still a knife's stab to the heart. No matter how hard she tried each time she could still hear the arguing, the swearing, sometimes crashes or door slamming. It cut through the walls easily, slipping through cracks of sorrow and despair. Each time catastrophic.

This time was no different. Her mom got mad at her dad again for getting drunk when he was supposed to be watching her while her mom was at work. It wasn't the first time nor would it be the last, but somehow every time it always seemed to revolve around her. It always came back to Violet. Something she had done, something about her being a liability now, something about taking care of her, something about being happier before she came along. And each time it was always her fault, she was always caught in the crossfire.

Violet pulled her knees up to her chest. One hand wrapped around them, the other ran a finger over the metal casing of the golden locket that hung around her neck. The necklace cold to the touch, just like the feeling in her heart. Inside held a picture of her and her mom and dad, back before all the fighting, when they were happy. Back before...her grandparents died.

It was better back then. There was still fighting at times, little arguments about financial problems and shit like that, but it never got this bad. It would usually end with her mom crying and her dad apologizing saying they'ed get through it. But back then they had grandma and grandpa to help out. They'd help out with financial problems to help her parents make ends meet and they'd watch Violet often when her parents were to busy with work.

Then once grandpa died, that's when the drinking started. Her dad could be found past out on the couch every other night with a bottle in his hand and about six others littering the table. Grandma didn't take it well either, choosing to just end it by shooting herself. In front of Violet no less.

She knew her parents thought it was her fault, her dad especially. He blamed her for everything now of days. She couldn't blame them for thinking that way, it's not like she had tried to stop her grandmother. If she was being honest with her self, it was mostly from how scared she had been when grandma had pulled out the gun. Afterward, she had been to paralyzed with fear to move from her spot on the floor and call for help. The shock and panic too consuming to even think about calling the police or anyone for that matter.

She remembered the scream of her mother's horrified cries once she came to pick her up five hours later. Then how once her mother had calmed down enough to ask her what had happened, she collapsed into her arms and cried her eyes out harder than she ever had before. She had been close to her grandparents. Then one moment they were gone and apparently her parents with them.

The only good thing that had come out of all of this was her father gaining her grandparent's inheritance money which had enabled them to move out of their old trailer and buy a real house. But it didn't feel like a house, it felt more like a prison if anything. She couldn't count how many times she had locked herself inside this closet hoping, praying, that somehow it would be okay. Anything to get away from the noise. She wished they were both just faking or it was just a game they were playing, but playing pretend wouldn't save her at this point.

She winced when an outburst grew louder behind her, she was sure she heard her name again. She clutched her locket in her hand and squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping out and sliding down in silent streams. The screaming only seemed to escalate, the voices more consuming as they ripped through the walls filling every room in the house with their harsh blows.

She threw her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the noise. She started talking through the tears, praying for them to cease the fighting. "Please, please make them stop." She choked out. "Just make it stop!" She cried, her whole body shaking wildly as sob after sob racked through her twelve-year-old body. Each word reminding her of the gunshot from her grandmother's death.

Through bleary eyes, she saw one of those plastic pistols laying on the floor of her closet, the kind with the orange tip on the end to show it was just a toy. She remembered her grandpa buying it for her, saying how he'd teach her to shoot when she was older. He liked to go to the shooting range every so often and Violet always begged for him to take her with him.

She looked at it now, envious and full of hatred. If only the gun her grandmother had used had been a little toy gun instead of a .22 rifle. Then she'd still be here and Violet wouldn't have to deal with a house full of hateful words. Every comment, every snide remark, every accusing word laced with poison, regret, hostility. The kind that cut you like a knife, meant to break you inside. And they were all in one way or another directed at Violet. They may have been yelling at each other, but it might as well have been at her. She knew her dad hated her, blamed her for what happened with his parents. It wasn't her fault, none of it was, but they sure made it feel like it.

She picked up the pistol. The noise outside reaching full volume as her mom screamed out the word conversation. She screamed in frustration and threw the gun as hard as she could against the wall of the closet. The little plastic weapon cracked and landed in pieces on the floor, much like Violet's life. She grabbed a pillow and screamed as loud as she could into it, the sound muffled by the fabric. She just wanted it to stop! Wanted anyone to hear her please, wanted someone to come and save her.

That night Violet fell asleep in her closet. Her pillow wet with tears after crying herself to sleep. If only words were like little toy guns.

Just a Bang! Bang! rolling off the tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just something I've been thinking about writing for years, but it was originally going to be done with Clem. Violet fits the role much better now. Inspired by Carrie Underwood's song "Little Toy Guns".  
> If enough people like this I'll continue it.
> 
> Secret Life of Writing Out! :)


	2. Pulling The Trigger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope chapter 2 lives up to chapter 1. But I'm going to be honest with you guys, I cried while writing this chapter.  
> Warning: Does mention abuse. Things get serious between Violet and Carley.

**1 Year Later**

School was over, at least until the weekend ended.

Which was fine by Violet. She'd finally have a day or two to spend away from the jail cell she called her house. For most kids, it meant freedom away from school, a time to relax and kick back doing whatever. Probably meaning staying up till two a.m. playing Xbox or some shit like that. Like a normal kid. Violet knew she was no normal kid. Call it a hunch, but she was pretty sure most kids didn't lock themselves in their bedroom closet while their parent's arguing fits rattled the house and the neighbors threatened to call the cops if they didn't cool it.

But this weekend was going to be different. This weekend she was spending the night at Clementine's house. A place she became familiar with over the past year. Violet was still baffled that Clem had even started talking to her in the first place, but she guessed she had Louis to thank for part of that. Him having introduced Clem into her small band of friends that she seemed to have picked up along the way by some miracle.

She was glad for the break. Plus there were some recent memories she'd like to try and forget. Mainly what happened last night.

"Hey, Vi." A cheerful voice spoke out to her, breaking Violet from her thoughts.

She looked up at the curly haired girl. A bright smile on her face, worn baseball cap in its rightful place on her head. The twelve-year-old stopped in front of her, grabbing her hand. "Come on!"

Violet winced a bit as Clem pulled her arm, but willed herself to function and walk forward. She took notice of how Clem didn't let go of her hand, even after she was sure Violet was following her. It caused her to smile, something that only seemed to happen around Clem. She liked the feeling it was something she missed. Her parents never smiled, at least not anymore. There were times her mother would try and put on a brave face for her, but Violet knew the smile was fake.

Clem swung their interlocked hands as they walked. Clementine a step away from skipping as she hummed whatever song was in her head, a bright smile on her face. Violet assumed Clem was excited about the approaching summer. It was already the beginning of June. With only like two more weeks left of school who wouldn't be happy?

Violet. That's who.

School was her only time away from her house. A chance to be free from the shackles of depression. Once summer hit, her parents would have nowhere to send her with grandma and grandpa out of the mix. That left her at home to sit amongst the loathing and blame that filled the air and forced its way down her throat. Her mom and dad didn't talk to each other except to release anger, which always escalated and caused her to retreat to her not so soundproof hideaway.

Thank god Clementine showed up in her life. Her other friends were nice and she often enjoyed her time with them, even if she wouldn't admit it. Even a night with Louis was worth it if she didn't have to listen to parental bickering. But Clem was the only one that actually made a difference in her life. Her lucky number in the lottery. No matter how bad she felt, Clem always got her to smile. Something Violet loved about her.

They walked on in silence, which Violet knew Clem didn't mind. Violet was often a silent person and Clem respected that, but she knew Violet had her moments. If there was anyone Violet would talk to it was Clementine.

Violet found herself fiddling with her locket around her neck as they walked. The first conversation she ever had with Clementine was actually about the little gold trinket that she refused to part with. Clem saying how it was pretty and asked what it was.

"You look pretty with it on."

Violet looked up to find Clem staring, catching her off guard. " _What?_ "

Clem pointed at her necklace. "Your locket. I think you look pretty with it on."

Violet felt butterflies at the girl's words. Something she had been experiencing lately whenever she was around the younger girl, but it was a welcomed feeling. "I-uh thank you."

Clem sent her a bright smile in return. "Your welcome." She said before turning forward once more and continued humming her little tune.

A minute later the Everett house came into view.

"You're not gonna believe how big AJ's gotten since the last time you saw him," Clem told the blonde as they approached the front door.

"He talking yet?" Violet asked. She remembered the first time she had met Clem and her family. AJ had only been a few months old.

"No, not yet," Clem said disappointingly as she opened the front door.

Violet sent her a slight smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be soon."

Clem smiled at her in return.

"Hey there, sweet pea."

Violet would recognize that saying anywhere. Only one person ever called Clem by that name. A man she knew as Lee Everett appeared.

Clem ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He crouched down and embraced her.

Violet had to turn away, afraid she might cry if she watched the action unfold. She couldn't remember the last time her dad had hugged her like that, or even acknowledge her with any source of kindness. She rubbed her arm self-consciously.

Another voice sounded from the kitchen. "Is Clem home?" Came a female voice.

Violet recognized this one to be Clem's mom, Carley. And soon enough she appeared from the kitchen doorway.

"Sure is," Lee replied standing back up.

Carley came around to get a look. "Good. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes." She smiled when her eyes landed on Violet. "Hello, Violet. Glad you could come."

"Yeah, I don't think Clem's stopped talking about you all week." Lee implied pushing the bill of Clem's cap down over her eyes.

"Daaad." Clem fixed her baseball cap, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

Did Clem really talk about her that much? Violet was perplexed by Lee's statement, but she forced herself to respond. "I-I'm glad to be here. T-thank you."

Lee smiled. "Not a problem. We're always happy to have you."

Violet felt overjoyed to hear that. She loved being here! Lee and Carley were always nice to her, always treated her with respect. A total one-eighty compared to her home. And best of all she had Clem here.

Not to say that Clem hadn't been to her house before. But she didn't like to think about that. It...haden't exactly ended well.

* * *

_"We need to work on our project after school today," Clem told Violet as she slipped on her backpack waiting for the blonde to pack up her notebooks._

_Violet zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Okay. Wanna head over to your house?"_

_"Why don't we go over to yours?" Clem asked as they walked the school's halls towards the front doors, not paying attention enough to see Violet's face fall at her suggestion._

_Violet rubbed the back of her neck. "I-er, I don't know..." She hoped Clem would change her answer._

_"Come on, I've never been to your house before. I wanna see where you live." Clem told her giving Violet her best puppy dog eyes._

_Violet sighed. If it had been anyone else she would have shut them down in a heartbeat. "O-okay."_

_Clem gave her a smile like she had just been told tomorrow was Christmas. "Yeah, let's go!"_

_Violet felt her stomach churn. What had she just done? If her parents started up while Clem was at her house... She felt like she wanted to throw up. She fought back the bile that was at the back of her throat._

_Violet took in a deep breath as they walked. It would be okay. Her mom didn't get home till later tonight. All they had to do was avoid her dad. Hopefully, he was asleep on the couch once they got there._

_Violet felt her hands shake as she opened the front door. It creaked open and Violet winced at the noise but felt relief once she heard the sound of the TV coming from the living room, meaning her dad wouldn't hear them come in._

_She allowed Clem to come in and softly closed the door behind them. "Alright, we have to stay in my room. Okay?" She somewhat warned. "My dad...ugh...is asleep." That was mostly true._

_Clem nodded. "Alright."_

_Things were actually going well for once. The girls had been able to work quietly for over an hour now without any disruptions. Violet surprisingly felt herself relax. She had been nothing but tense for the first ten minutes, dreading the bitter outcome of when the two-headed beast awoke and released its vicious roar._

_She even felt herself smile as they added the finishing touch to their science project. "There that should be..."_

_That's when they heard the front door slam shut._

_Clem pushed herself up from her spot on the floor of Violet's room. "What was that?"_

_"Ughhh...nothing." Violet lied. Her heart started to hammer in her chest. She looked over at the clock on her desk that read four forty-five. Her mom shouldn't be home this early._

_That's when thundering footsteps could be heard running up the stairs. Violet knew what was coming and let a small whimper escape her. Seconds later yelling could be heard coming from upstairs. It wasn't as loud as when they would go at it right outside her bedroom door in the hallway, but she knew sooner or later they'd make there way downstairs._

_Violet felt panic set in. "Clem you-you need to leave."_

_"What? But we're almost done. I..." She stopped when she saw the scared look on Violet's face. The girl looked like she was ready to cry. A few swear words broke through what little muffling the house provided. "Violet, what's going on?" Clem asked worriedly as the voices grew louder._

_"I'm so tired of this bullshit!"_

_"If you don't like it, then go to hell!"_

_"Please Clem, I...I don't want to get you in trouble. You need to leave, like right now." Violet winced as a crash was heard._

_Clem didn't understand what was happening but could tell Violet was serious and nodded._

_Violet helped her gather her things and the two of them snuck down the hallway and out the front door._

_Out on the front porch, Violet felt like she could breathe again. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't think my mom would be home this early." She apologized._

_"Are they always like this?" Clem asked._

_"No, no! It's not!" Violet quickly blurted out. "It's fine." She bit her lip. "But could you...please not tell anyone about this?"_

_"Yeah, sure," Clem replied casually._

_Violet stopped her. "No Clem, I-I need you to really promise that you'll never say anything about this to anyone."_

_Clem's expression changed to one of concern. Violet was scared. "Why?"_

_Violet's gaze drifted to the ground. "I-I just... don't want to get in trouble." A single tear ran down the side of her face, the rest threatening to break through in a cascade of salty streams._

_Clem walked up and brushed the tear away from Violet's face. "I promise."_

* * *

She didn't like to think about that. Watching her favorite person in the world leave while she had to stay back and endure the bitterness of her reality. At least she had saved Clem from the shackles of despair.

Unlike her, Clem was able to leave Castle Violet. While everyday Clem went home to her domain, Violet was held captive in her own kingdom, where even the depths of the dungeon weren't enough to escape the two-headed monster's rage as it descended upon the house. Its roar was enough to shatter Violet's armor and leave her helpless amongst its fierce and fiery personality.

But after that Clem never bothered Violet about going over to her house again. Which Violet wasn't sure if she should be thankful for or not. Was Clem afraid of her house too?

"That's because Violet's the best," Clem explained. She ran up and hugged the slightly taller girl wrapping her arms around Violet's waist.

A sudden feeling of pain shot through Violet's body at Clem's touch, pulling the girl from her thoughts. "Ow!" She blurted out.

Clem immediately let go, scared she had hurt the girl.

"Everything okay, Violet?" Lee asked, eyebrows raised. He didn't think a hug from Clem was enough to hurt the young girl.

Violet realized everyone was staring at her and cleared her throat sheepishly. "I-uh, yeah. Every-everythings fine. It just surprised me is all." Her side still stung from the hug though. It felt like vines had wrapped around her midriff with their sharp thorns digging into her ribs.

Clem shrugged it off believing the girl. "Alright then, come on!" She grabbed Violet's hand and pulled the girl up the stairs to her room.

Leaving Carley and Lee to give knowing glances to each other at Clem's enthusiasm.

* * *

Later that night after dinner both girls could be found up in Clem's room constructing a fort from various pillows and blankets that they'd gathered from around the house. Lee had even let them take the couch cushions from the living room at the promise of returning them before they went to bed.

"Aren't you hot in that?" Clem asked as she watched Violet fix one of their walls that had fallen down with a large blue pillow from Clem's bed. Her eyes falling on Violet's attire.

Violet wore a dark purple, long-sleeved shirt that covered her arms, and a pair of faded jeans. She had even been wearing a gray hoodie earlier in the day but had tied it around her waist once it had gotten too hot. "No, I'm fine." She told the brunette. It was a lie though. It was already June and the temperature had reached almost eighty-five by mid-afternoon. And even though they were inside with the air conditioner on, it was still uncomfortable to be in anything heavier than a t-shirt and shorts.

"Okay, now just one more on top. Hand me that one." Violet pointed to one of the beige couch pillows sitting next to Clem.

The girl obliged and handed the pillow over. Being too short, Violet had to stand on Clem's bed in order to reach the top. Her footing uneven as the springs of the bed creaked and shifted to her weight.

She outstretched her arm to place the cushion, but the spot she had to cover was inconveniently on the other side making it hard to fix. Violet forced herself to stretch, but the mattress sunk in at the edge and caused her to lose her balance. Without a seconds notice, Violet toppled over and onto their pillow fort, landing with a thud.

Clem chuckled at her mistake, despite all their hard work being ruined. "That was awesome." But she quickly stopped her laughing when a yelp came from the blonde haired girl. "Ow!"

"Vi, you okay?" Clem asked. Even though she fell from the height of Clem's bed, she landed on pretty much every pillow and blanket that they owned in the house. It shouldn't have hurt.

Violet clutched her shoulder as she sat up. "Shit." She mumbled under her breath. "Yeah, I-I'm f-fine."

Clem would have taken her for her word, except she noticed Violet's shirt had ridden up just a bit leaving a part of her stomach exposed. Normally nothing would have been wrong with this, except for the large purple mark that covered the young teen's pale skin. Clem had her fair share of bruises, but none of them were bad enough to color her skin the shade of an eggplant.

It wiped the smile off of her face in an instant. Her voice shook with each word. "Vi...Violet...?"

"What?" Green eyes followed Clem's pointer finger.

"Y-your side...w-what happened?"

Violet's eyes widened as she realized her skin was showing. She yanked her shirt down. "It-it's fine." Violet winced as she pulled herself up more and brought a hand to her side.

"Y-your hurt!" Clem's eyes widened. "You need help."

Violet shook her head as panic spread through her mind.  _Please just drop it, Clem._ "I'm-I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She tried to convince the brunette but was clearly failing.

Clem looked at Violet horrified by the thought. That's why she had reacted the way she had when Clem had hugged her, why she wore such warm clothes. "Vi, that...that's not normal. You need some help. Wait right here!" Clem jumped up from her spot on the floor.

"Wait! Clem!" Violet tried to stop her but failed to do so. Her heart thudded in her chest hard, to the point it felt like it was hurting her ribcage. Clem was going to tell her parents. Violet felt like she wanted to cry, this was just going to make it worse.

Clem returned a minute later with Carley in tow.

Violet picked herself up off the floor and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to put on a brave face. She lived with dragons, she could handle a woman in an office blouse.

Carley knelt down to her height and sent her a sweet smile. "Violet, Clem tells me you hurt yourself. Can I see?"

"I-I'm fine." Violet tried to say with conviction, but her voice came out more unsure. She took a tentative step back. "It-it's not a big deal."

"Violet, it's okay. You don't have to be scared." Carley told her.

"I-I'm n-not scared." She told Carley, but her voice was a big betrayer. Her hand went to her locket, her fingers tracing the metal casing. Something she did whenever she was scared or nervous.

Carley could tell something wasn't right. She knew Violet wasn't the most open person, but everything about her deminer was sending up red flags. The young girl had fear written in her eyes, like any minute someone would jump out and attack her. The biggest concern was the fact that Clem actually had to come to get her and Lee. She knew their daughter, Clem liked to solve her own problems, and only had her and Lee step in when things were seriously wrong. Clem was smart. If she felt there was a need to worry, it was usually for good reason.

Carley's voice was calm but stern when she spoke. "Violet, let me see."

Violet's mind screamed no.  _Don't let her get involved. It'll only make things worse._ But she figured Carley wouldn't ask again. "O-okay." It came out in a whisper. Her hands shook as she reached for the helm of her shirt. Her heart beat loudly in her ears. She slowly lifted the edge of her shirt just enough for Carley to catch a glimpse of the bruise that ran across her midriff.

Carley wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't that. She lifted a hand and ran a thumb across the mark. It clearly went farther than what Violet was willing to show her. Violet sucked in a sharp breath and jerked back, dropping the shirt down.

A million thoughts ran across Carley's mind. Being a reporter she had heard her fair share of horror stories, seen a fair amount of carnage, but she hoped this wasn't going to be one of them.

"Honey, I want you to come with me." She stood and walked toward the door.

Violet's head drooped and she stared at the floor. She was in trouble, she knew she was. She felt sick again as the feeling of despair and regret settled into the pit of her stomach. It was her fault again. It was just like at home, this is where the blow comes in. The yelling would start up again, but this time it'd be directed straight at her.

"Clem can you go wait downstairs with Lee please." She heard Carley say.

The curly haired girl nodded in reply and ran off, but not before sending Violet a guilty but apologetic look. She hadn't meant to get Violet in trouble, she was just trying to help.

Carley escorted Violet across the hall and into the upstairs bathroom. Turning on the light to give life to the darkened room, the bright yellow paint brightened up the walls giving it a welcoming feeling. She shut the door behind them and locked it so no one would walk in on them.

Violet gasped and flinched when Carley walked over towards her. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the harsh words, a backhand across the mouth, anything to punish her, to put her in her place.

"Violet do you have any of those marks anywhere else?" Carley asked gently.

She opened her eyes when the verbal assault hadn't started and was instead met with kind words. She looked up at Carley then down at the floor, she wasn't going to answer. Not this time. She couldn't. She'd already buried herself deep enough, why make it seven feet under when she was already at six. This would just make it worse.

Carley sighed. If Violet wasn't going to tell her she'd just have to show her. "Honey, I want you to take your shirt off."

Violet's head snapped up at Carley so fast it probably gave her whiplash. Was she serious right now? "What? No, no I..."

"I need to see if there are any more. Can you please take off your shirt?" Carley knelt down to Violet's height to appear less threatening to the younger girl.

Violet shook her head, as tears started brimming her eyes, her voice cracking. "No, no, I-I can't." She backed up until she hit the edge of the bathtub, almost falling back into it. This wasn't supposed to happen. No one was supposed to know. No matter what she did everything always came back to her. She was always caught in the crossfire. Poison arrows drawn on both sides, but with armor so worn, it barely made a difference. Why couldn't Carley understand that the more she revealed the more damage was done.

"Yes, you can," Carley spoke softly.

"But, but I..." Violet tried to stall. She couldn't just pull off her shirt in front of Clem's mom.

"It's okay, sweetie. Were both girls." Carley reached out a hand and placed it upon the scared girl's shoulder. She could feel Violet's body shake under her touch.

Carley slowly reached down and gripped the bottom of Violets shirt. Seeing no resistance she continued. Violet whimpered as the shirt went over her head. Leaving her upper body in nothing but her necklace and a white training bra. But that's not what caused Carley to gasp in horror as her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Bruises ranging from black to purple covered the little girl's upper body, from just below her collar bone down to her waist. Some were faded, but others were clearly new. Violet's arms were covered in bruise marks twice the size of her thumb as if someone had gripped her arms tightly to the point where it had left marks. The largest mark was located up by her ribs. A purplish blotch about the size of an apple petering out from under the side of her bra. Carley was no doctor, but she was pretty sure Violet's ribs were bruised if not broken.

Violet shifted unsettlingly under Carley's gaze as she stood bare-chested. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest, unsure if she should cover up her bruises or her bra. She felt so exposed as she felt the embarrassment heat rise to the back of her neck and caused her cheeks to burn, her face turning a light red color. She didn't dare meet Carley's eyes. She could already hear the disappointment coming.

Carley brought a hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh, Violet..."

Her eyes stung as she held back tears. She could feel the thundering of her heartbeat through her hand as she gripped her heart-shaped locket against her chest. "I-I'm sorry..." She choked out. Maybe if she apologized ahead of time her punishment wouldn't be as harsh.

Carley brushed away the horror and sorrowful expression. Her face hardening into one of seriousness and anger. "Violet..." Her voice a warning tone. "...who did this to you?"

Violet shook her head. "N-no one. I-I tripped...and- and f-fell down the stairs." She lied. Violet knew exactly who had done this. She wanted to step farther back, but she was as far back as she could go. Unless she wanted to step inside the bathtub, but that would only make her feel more cornered.

Carley shook her head and sighed. Those weren't bruises from an accident. She'd viewed enough abusement cases to know the difference between the two. It made her sick to her stomach to know that someone hurt such a sweet little girl. "Violet I know that's not true. Honey, I need you to tell me the truth."

Violet couldn't help it anymore as a few tears streamed down her face. "I-I can't. I don't wanna get in t-trouble."

Fear was present in her eyes. A kind no child should ever feel. It was her fault, everything was always her fault. If she tried to help it would only make things worse. She really wanted to run to her closet right now, lock herself in and never talk to anyone ever again. Everything was already so broken. Why couldn't she just leave it at that? Why try to glue the pieces back together, just to drop them again and shatter it more.

Carley's heart broke at that. "Honey, you won't be in any trouble. I promise. But you have to tell me who did this to you."

Violet shook her head. She wanted to run away from it all. If she left then there'd be no pain, no damage done. No sting, no hurt, no one. Everywhere she looked just reminded her of what was, what had happened, and what  _would_  happen if she revealed too much. And it was all because of her.

She choked back on a sob. "I...It-it was an accident, da-daddy didn't mean to...he..." She stopped as she realized what had just left her mouth was supposed to stay in her mind.

"Your dad did this to you?" Carley said to make sure she heard correctly.

"He-he was d-drinking an-and..." Violet didn't finish.

Instead, Carley watched as tears dripped down from her chin and splashed onto the bathroom tiles below. She was full on crying now as salty streams poured from her already red eyes. Everything was just too much right now. Her life was a mess. Home was a battlefield on a good day, if any of those were even left. Each fight was glued to her mind, not a word, insult, scream, crash, shout, yell, swear, whatever you wanted to call it, none of it was missed. And it all bared down on her shoulders, whether intentional or not. The unrelenting words seeped into her head, much like they did through the walls of her bedroom, and clouded her mind.

Violet looked up at Carley through blurred eyes. "Mm s-sorry." She said between sobs.

Carley placed a hand on her should. "It's okay to cry, sweetie."

Violet took in a sharp breath and exhaled shakily, trying to calm down.

"Does your mom know about this?"

Violet shook her head. "N-no. I-I don't want them to f-fight anymore."

"When did this happen?" Carley asked.

Violet was too tired to fight anymore and submitted to Carley's questions. "Y-yesterday."

"Does this happen a lot?" Carley wondered how long this had been going on and why no one had ever noticed before. Maybe Violet was just really good at covering her battle scars, both internally and externally.

Violet rubbed some tears from her eyes with the palm of her hand. "N-not often."

It had only happened one other time and she had gone to school with a black eye the next day. But Violet was positive it would happen again if Carley tried to do anything about it. It would only make it worse. Why did no one understand that?

"Honey, do you think you can tell me what happened?" Carley asked gently.

Violet knew exactly what happened. It was all her fault.

* * *

_She'd returned home from school yesterday with little to no homework considering summer vacation was right around the corner. She stopped in the kitchen to look for one of her books. Not finding it there she figured it was upstairs. She went to go look but had to pass by the living room before she could make it to the staircase. Her dad was currently seated in his recliner watching TV, a half-empty Budlight sat loosely in his hand and about a dozen other empty bottles were scattered across the coffee table._

_Most days he didn't pay much attention to her. Which was fine by her, not like she had anything to say to him anyway. It was the days when he did acknowledge her that she had to watch out for. And today just happened to be the lucky day._

_Violet had one hand on the staircase railing when his gruff voice reached her ears. "Violet!"_

_She winced at his yell. He threw his head back and chugged what was left in his bottle. "Grab...grab me another one of them beers." He ordered._

_Violet stared at the empty bottles strewn across the table. She didn't like it when her father drank. He always smelled like stale beer and it only made her mother angrier when she came home to him passed out on the couch._

_"M-mom d-doesn't like it when you drink." Violet stuttered out._

_Her dad glared at her. "What?" He rose from his seat and_ _slammed his now empty bottle onto the table. "That better not be sass I hear girl!"_

_Violet felt her fight or flight instinct kick in and she wasn't too happy with the choice she made. "...An-and I don't like it either!" She shouted. What the hell was she doing?_

_He stormed up to her with a stagger in his step, extream anger written across his face. "I don't give a fuck what you think."_

_Violet shrunk into herself as he approached. She went to run up the stairs, but he caught her arm before she could escape. "Fucking smart ass." He yanked on her hard, getting her to yelp. "Get over here!" He gripped her arms tight._

_Violet whimpered in pain. "Dad." She tried to loosen his grip on her arms. "Dad!" She pleaded for him to let go, but he wouldn't listen. Instead, it seemed like he squeezed her harder, digging his fingers into her skin. "Daddy, it hurts." She cried desperately trying to get him to stop. Violet never called him daddy, unless it was mentally triggered when she was scared._

_He sneered at her. "I don't fucking care!" He growled pulling her closer to him, the scent of beer suffocating. "I am your father. And you FUCKING LISTEN when I'm TALKING TO YOU! UNDERSTAND?"_

_He shoved her hard against the stairs. Violet cried out in agony as she felt a sharp pain in her side when she made contact with the wooden surface. She wanted to run from his tyranny, but couldn't. She was trapped between a drunk and a hard place, literally. Tears filled her eyes and a few fell down her face._

_If she would of just let it go, then maybe she would have been fine but out of impulsiveness, she fought back. "F-Fuck you! Your-your just drunk!" She yelled through tears. Her eyes widened at her outburst. What had she just done?_

_He turned back to her, fists shaking with rage. "Why you little bitch!"_

_Violet felt her jeans become damp as she let out another whimper._

_He raised a fist and brought it down hard._

* * *

That's when she learned to never fight back.

"No, no Please. Please, d-don't make me!" Violet cried. She pulled away from Carley. Tears falling faster than before. "I-I just want the fighting to stop."

She didn't want to relive it again. Her ribs burned just at the thought. They had felt like they were on fire that night when she had gone to bed. It had hurt, but not as much as the words did every night. It would never hurt as much as the blaming did. Wounds healed, but the scars from the verbal berating would remain. They were already implanted in her head, and now they were branded into her skin. Each accusing word hot ironed into flesh so they'd never be forgotten, because you can't un-hear, and you can't un-say.

Those words from before found their way into her mind again.  _If only words were l_ _ike little toy guns._ Then there'd be no sting, no hurt, no one. There was no smoke, or bullets, no kick from the trigger when you pull it.

Just a Bang! Bang! rolling off the tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, Violet needs a hug. I feel terrible. :(
> 
> If yall are wondering why Clem went to Carley instead of Lee, it's because having Lee at that moment would have been really awkward and somewhat inappropriate, in my opinion, with Violet having to remove her shirt. I know Violet never really has a relationship with Carley in most fanfics, but it was necessary for this one. Sorry just felt like I needed to provide an explanation if people found it weird that Clem went and got Carley instead of Lee. Don't get me wrong, Lee is still totally concerned about the situation.
> 
> Secret Life of Writing Out! :)


	3. Bullet Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, this story isn't based off of a real-life experience. I've never been in a situation like this if anyone was wondering, and I hope none of you have ever been through something like this either.

She felt bile rise to the back of her throat as her breathing became fast and heavy. It made her chest ache, but there was no stopping it this time.

"I-I need to throw up." Violet whimpered. She didn't feel good at all. She tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths, but it hurt to do so. She paced back and forth trying to reduce the feeling, but it wasn't working.

Carley nodded in understanding. "That's okay. You want some water?"

Violet shook her head no. Her anxiety reaching its peak as it caused her stomach to flip. She turned and knelt next to the toilet just as her stomach decided it had had enough. She retched and expelled the contents of her stomach with a painful cry, while Carley held back blonde locks of hair. "It hurts." Violet whimpered out, wanting desperately to fix the searing pain in her ribs that accompanied each heave her stomach made.

"I know sweetie. It'll be okay." Carley reassured trying her best to comfort the girl.

Violet's stomach gave one more lurch to fully empty its contents. She spit out the residue in her mouth to try and get rid of the acidic taste that coated her tastebuds. Her body shook as she took in labored breaths, each one causing her sides to hiss in pain.

Carley walked over to the sink and grabbed her a dixie cup and filled it with cold water. "Here. This'll help get rid of the taste."

Violet took the cup and rinsed out her mouth spitting out the rancid water. Then she took what was left in the cup and swallowed it. "Thank you." She whispered breathlessly and stood back up on shaky legs.

Carley took notice that Violet was still without a shirt and figured the girl would probably prefer to cover back up. "Violet why don't I go grab your bag and you can put on something more comfortable. Alright?"

Violet nodded wanting to not feel so exposed anymore. It made her feel like she was in one of those dreams where you show up to school with no pants on.

Carley left for a minute and grabbed the thirteen-year-olds backpack from inside Clem's room. She returned and was about to hand over the backpack when a thought crossed her mind when she stole a glance at Violet's attire. "Before you change I have to make sure, you don't have any more bruises anywhere else that I should know about right?" She really didn't want to make the girl strip completely, but she would if it meant saving her life from a monster. Just the thought alone made Carley want to throw up as well, as a feeling of dread spread through her.

Violet gave her a confused look until she saw Carley's gaze shift downward and Violet knew what she meant. "No, no I don't. I promise, I don't." She frantically shouted. She really hoped Carley wouldn't make her take off her pants just to prove it. She felt tears prick her eyes again and she took a few steps back. "Please don't make me, I promise I don't."

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay, it's okay. You don't have to, I just wanted to make sure, honey. I believe you." She tried to calm her down. Seeing as Violet didn't hesitate or stutter like before, Carley took her word for it.

Carley unzipped her bag and looked at her clothes. She pulled out Violet's light gray hoodie and some dark blue pajama pants with little white wolves printed all over them. "Violet, honey, I think you might of bruised your ribs. If you wear this it'll cover your arms and won't restrict your breathing. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, I know it's hot out."

Violet didn't care. In fact, she felt kinda cold now that she'd gone without anything over her upper body for the last fifteen minutes. She'd be glad to wear anything at this point. "No, it's fine." She took the desired clothing from Carley and the older woman exited the bathroom to give her a minute to change in private.

Violet threw her sweatshirt over her head with a wince and pulled it down to cover up the ugly bruises the littered her midriff. Had her side always been this sensitive? She swore she hadn't felt this bad at school earlier. Maybe that fall had reawoken the numbing pain inside or she had just been really distracted at school to not have noticed. Trying to keep her life at home a secret could be really time-consuming sometimes. But right now she didn't care, it felt great to have something other than just a bra covering her chest. Carley was right, a baggy sweatshirt felt better hanging loosely on her rather than a constricting long sleeved shirt.

She quickly changed out of her jeans and into her pajama pants. They might have been a little warm, but they were comfy and her favorite thing to wear. She exited the bathroom and put her bag back in Clem's room before joining Carley and heading back downstairs with everyone else.

She saw Clem seated on the couch with AJ in her lap, she had even brought the couch cushions back downstairs. Lee sat across from them in a chair. Clem looked up from the almost two-year-old in her lap as she noticed the presence of the two. "Vi, your back!" She smiled up at the blonde haired girl.

Violet took a seat next to the younger girl pulling her feet up onto the couch next to her without saying a word.

"Everything go okay?" Lee asked the two not suspecting any real harm had been done.

Carley motioned with her hand for Lee to follow her. "We need to talk for a minute." She kept her voice calm and relaxed for the kid's sake.

Lee raised a brow and sent her a questioning look, but followed her into the kitchen none the less.

Violet watched them leave with a worrying feeling creeping up on her. She brought her knees up close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

A giggle from AJ brought her attention to the two sitting next to her. She watched as Clem bounced him in her lap and would occasionally tickle him, getting him to squeal in delight.

AJ then seemed to take notice of the other girl in the room with them. He excitedly pointed at Violet then looked at Clem expectantly. Clem let out a chuckle. "I think AJ wants you to hold him." She told Violet.

Violet seemed startled by the offer. Normally she'd have no problem having held AJ many times before, but she worried it might upset her injuries more if AJ suddenly decided to get fidgety on her. "I..er...um maybe later. I don't feel all that great right now." Which was true, she honestly felt like she had just been hit by a ton of bricks at the moment.

Clem sent her a reassuring smile. "That's okay." Then she turned her attention back to the toddler in her arms. "Maybe next time, goofball." She boops him on the nose with her finger which he seems to think is the funniest thing in the world and forgets about wanting Violet to hold him.

Violet can't help but smile at the interaction. The kid was just too damn cute. Her smile faded, however, when a muffled conversation could be heard coming from the kitchen. It wasn't nearly as loud as when her parents argued, but it still brought back dreaded memories. Violet couldn't even make out anything they were saying, just hearing the low rumble of voices to know there was a conversation going on, but she knew they had to be talking about her. She whimpered and hugged her knees closer to her chest, but had to stop once it caused some discomfort. This is where the punishment comes in.

The whimper brought Clem's attention to her. She gave the older girl a concerned look. "Vi, what's the matter?"

Violet glanced at the kitchen doorway where she could see shadows move in the light then back at Clem. "Do...do your parents ever argue?"

Clem shrugged keeping AJ busy by clapping his hands together for him. "Sometimes." She chuckled. "Usually it's about where they left the car keys or what they should make for dinner or something dumb like that. Why?"

Violet whimpered again as tears started to build in her eyes. "I-I think I'm in trouble." She choked out.

Clem watched as a few tears rolled down the side of Violet's face. "Because you got hurt?"

Violet nodded as more tears leaked from her eyes.

Clem placed AJ down on the ground so he could play with some of his toys. She looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry for telling my parents about your injury. I understand if you're mad at me." Clem admitted shamefully rubbing her arm.

Violet wiped some tears away with her sleeve surprised at Clem's words. She was never mad at Clem, it was just better if no one got involved in the first place. She saved Clem from getting to close to the fire once, but she didn't know if she could do it again. "I-I'm not mad. I just...I-I tried to fix things before and...it didn't end well." She brought a hand to her side. "I didn't want anyone to know because...because it was my fault. It's always my fault. All-all I do is make everything worse."

Clem scooted closer towards the blonde and tentatively placed her hand atop Violet's. But what shocked Violet the most was the kiss she felt against her tear-stained cheek. "I don't think you make everything worse," Clem replied honestly.

The action caused Violet's breath to hitch and get caught in her lungs. Clem had seriously just kissed her, she couldn't believe it. Sure it wasn't on the lips, but it had still been a pretty bold gesture. She looked over to see Clem's face blushing wildly. She had really kissed her, even after everything Violet had just told her, after everything she had done. Violet's mind was just conscious enough to pay attention to what the brunette had to say.

"In fact, I think..." Clem paused to process what she really wanted to say. "...I mean I...I really care about you Vi. And I hope we can be...more than friends." She bit her lip hesitantly after the last part. Her face still red with a burning feeling creeping it's way up the back of her neck. Violet hadn't turned away yet, so that was a good sign. But she also hadn't said anything. "I-I mean only if you want to...that is." She cleared her throat unsure of what to do next.

Violet's mind flooded with thoughts, like a cascade of waves crashing onto the shore all at one time. Was Clem serious? No one had ever wanted her before, her dad sure didn't. Her mom probably still cared, but she was always too busy with work to pay much attention to her. Come to think of it no one had ever treated her with the type of kindness that Clem put forward. At least not in the last three years. It made her feel overjoyed and overwhelmed at the same time as her heart rate kicked up and the butterflies from earlier flittered around in her stomach.

After all the flips her stomach had done that night this one was the most enjoyable. Violet didn't even think as she flung her arms around the brunette and pulled her into a tight hug. Something inside changed, a spark, a sense of hope washed over the blonde. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. Someone actually cared about her. She felt a few tears slide down her face as she hugged Clem tighter. "Thank you."

Clem was a bit shocked at first by Violet's sudden response, but she smiled at her words. Seeing as Violet was the first to instigate the hug Clem found it okay to reciprocate the embrace but made sure to be gentle after earlier's incident. "Your welcome."

Violet finally felt herself relax for the first time since being there. Sure her secret was out and the game wasn't over, but the playing field had now changed in her favor. Now she wasn't battling alone. They stayed like that for a few moments. Until a small but high pitched giggle was heard. The two girls separated and looked to see AJ pointing at them from the floor with a bright smile on his face.

"I think AJ approves," Clem told Violet as she picked him back up and sat him on the couch between the two of them.

It got Violet to chuckle. "I guess so." She rubbed AJ's head affectionately giving Clem a smile which was returned by both her and AJ.

Just then Carley and Lee returned from their clash in the kitchen. Lee didn't look too happy, his face bitter and expressionless as he walked past the girls and snatched his keys off the side table rather violently as if the keys had really pissed him off lately and he was holding a grudge.

Clem looked over the back of the couch as he walked towards the front door. "Where are you going, dad?" The clock on the cable box read eight p.m. in light blue numbers, so she wondered what Lee could be doing going out this late.

He stopped to try and come up with an excuse. "Uhh...nothing sweet pea. Don't worry about it girls. Just...taking care of something." Before he could be questioned further Lee opened the front door and closed it forcefully behind him.

Violet sank further into the couch, as worry overtook her. Her locket finding it's way into her hand once again. Something told her that whatever Lee was taking care of wasn't as small as he was making it out to be. And she knew for certain that it had something to do with her. Realization overtook her and she felt her stomach twist again at the thought. The playing field had shifted once more, but playing offense was only going to come back at her twice as hard.

* * *

Lee looked down at the piece of paper in his hands checking to see if the address on the house matched the one Carley had written down for him. Seeing as it was the same he crumpled the paper up into a ball and tossed it aside. He stepped out of the car slamming the door shut and stormed his way up to the house. He knocked against the plastic of the screen door rather harshly and waited for an answer.

He heard some kind of a thud and what sounded like glass breaking followed by a string of swear words before the door was finally opened. There stood a man a little bit shorter than him with light green eyes and short light brown hair and a matching beard to go along with it. He seemed confused as he stared Lee up and down. "Who-who the hell are ya?" He spat out, obviously intoxicated. Lee could clearly smell the reek of alcohol the laced his breath and stuck to his clothes. Did this guy ever take a shower or does he just take a bath in stale beer?

Lee didn't answer his question as he forcefully grabbed the collar of his brown t-shirt. He pulled the man closer and stared him down. "You ever and I mean EVER, hurt that little girl again and you'll have bigger problems than me to deal with!" Lee brought his fist back and socked the man right in the face. "Motherfucker!"

The man stumbled backward and fell in the doorway looking baffled as he blinked trying to make sense of what had just happened. Lee didn't give him a chance to reply as he walked away and got back in his car and drove away. No matter how drunk Violet's dad may have been he'd remember what happened in the morning with a black eye as a reminder.

* * *

Violet woke to the sound of a door closing shut. She shot up from her place in Clem's bed as tears started to stream down her face. She cried into her hands as her body shook with each sob. Even when she wasn't trapped at home she still couldn't get away from the fights that plagued her nightmares.

Clem woke from the movement next to her. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Vi?" Clem became much more alert once she realized the older girl was crying. "Violet, what's the matter?" She quickly calculated the most obvious reason for Violet's distress. "Did...did...you have a nightmare?" She asked concerned.

Violet nodded. She looked over at Clem and tried to cease the tear flow, but couldn't as she squeezed her eyes shut and only cried harder. Everything was so fucked up. All she could do was cry until she felt numb inside instead of the pain.

Clem went to reach out towards the girl. "Violet, it's okay. Everything's okay."

"No,..." Violet mumbled through the tears. "...it's not." Her hands instinctively went to her locket wanting something to hold onto. "I-I'm in so much t-trouble."

Clem reached her hand up and tucked some of Violet's hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her ear. "No, Vi. You're not in trouble. It's okay."

Violet shook her head. "Dad-daddy's g-going to be m-mad at me." She cried. Violet rolled up her sleeve to show Clem what had been done to her. "He-he hurt m-me...be-because it was m-my fault..."

It was dark, but the small amount of moonlight that pierced its way through the window allowed her to see the darker contrast of the bruises against Violet's pale skin. Clem's eyes widened at the sight, she hadn't known there were more than the one she had seen earlier.

Violet's voice shook as she tried to form sentences, her anxiety increasing with each thing she told Clem causing her breathing to falter. "...An-and...when-when I go back home...he-he's going to..." Violet couldn't finish as she cried. It was too painful to talk about.

She could already feel the fist that would collied with her body. The sound and feel of her ribs cracking, like breaking a toothpick. She might as well have been hit with a baseball bat. If her dad knew that she had told anyone about what had happened there would be repercussions. No one could save her from a dragon if she was alone. Any armor she had would be useless against not only physical attacks but verbal ones as well. Her closet was barely protection against the yelling, it was no match for an actual attack.

Clem wasn't sure what to do with this new information. With all the things she thought she knew, there was still so much she didn't get. She assumed her parents already knew, what with Carley taking Violet away to talk alone and Lee storming out of the house after the talk in the kitchen. Where had Lee gone anyway?

Clem pushed those thoughts away. Violet, she needed to focus on Violet. Not knowing what to do, Clem did the only thing she could think of. She moved closer to the blonde and wrapped her arms around the distraught girl, pulling her closer to her chest, but was gentle as to not agitate her wounds.

Violet didn't object as she gripped onto Clem's shirt like a lifeline, which in some way she kind of was. She rested her head against Clem's chest as tears continued to spill from her eyes, which were accompanied by her hiccuped cries. Droplets worked their way down her face dripping off and falling onto her sweatshirt, the neck of it already a dark gray as it was saturated with saltwater. She was so tired of crying, it felt like it was all she did anymore. When was the last time she  _hadn't_  cried herself to sleep?

Clem could feel Violet's heart thud against her chest like a jackhammer. It caused a feeling to wash over her, a sense of defensiveness unfolding. She wrapped her arms protectively around the girl. No one was going to hurt her anymore, not while Clem was around. It broke her heart to see Violet so scared. Someone, or more like some _thing_ , had harmed her, had broken her into pieces that now scattered the floor. Shards wanting to be glued back together, but were unable to until someone strong enough was able to hold them together.

She may be Violet Knight, but the years of war had taken its toll on her fighting spirit as the walls of her kingdom collapsed. If Violet needed a savior, then Clementine would be her new knight.

Clem rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay, Violet. I won't let them hurt you anymore."

Violet's cries had quieted, silent tears replacing hysterical sobs. "Stay with me?" She barely whispered, tiredness overtaking her exhausted body.

"Always."

* * *

The next day went on as normal, or as normal as it could be with such a traumatic problem in the back of everyone's mind. Maybe then the atmosphere wouldn't feel so forced, or at least that's what it felt like to Violet. But it didn't help that she always felt like she should have her guard up. Maybe she was just overreacting about what would happen. Maybe everything would be fine for once. This could be her one lucky break, a four-leaf clover in a field of daisies. Everyone else seemed to carry on as normal, maybe it really was just her who found it difficult to exist with what had happened. She still felt like she needed to smooth things over anyway.

She looked over at the brunette next to her, taking her eyes away from the movie they were watching. Violet had only been half engrossed in it anyway. "Hey, Clem?"

"Yeah, Vi?" Clem paused the movie for a minute, being able to sense that Violet wanted to tell her something important. She was about the only person who truly seemed to understand the blonde.

Violet rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry if I was weird last night or whatever. I uh...I know that was a lot..a lot that I put off on you." She felt her face flush and kept herself from meeting Clementine's gaze.

Clem gave her a smile. "It's fine, Vi. I get it." She reached out and placed her hand over the older girl's. "And I meant it. Every word."

Violet felt their fingers intertwine and sent her a smile back. "I know. And I appreciate it. It means a..."

Violet was cut off by a sharp knock at the door.

Clem and Vi both turned around to look at the door, a shadow by the window could be seen to show that someone was there. Clem got up and looked out the window seeing a car she didn't recognize parked by the curb, but she couldn't make out the person on the porch.

"Who's here?" Violet asked.

"Don't know," Clem responded. "But whoever they are I think they drive a silver sedan."

Violet felt her heart drop at that. "Where? Let me see!" She shot up and came to the window next to Clem. Outside she could see the gray car that was about to make her nightmares come true, that was her father's Buick sedan.

There was another knock at the door, this time much more violent as the person pounded on it. Violet slowly started to back up, her heart rapidly picking up pace. She wasn't supposed to go home until tomorrow. "That's my dad Clem. That's him." She latched onto the younger girl's shoulders. "You have to make him go away! Don't let him take me!"

Clem looked into Violet's eyes and could see fear present. She opened her mouth to say something until a voice spoke from the stairs. "Aren't you girls going to answer the door?" Came Carley's voice as she walked down the stairs with Lee right behind her.

She walked past before Clem could stop her and opened the door to a very displeased man. "You Mrs. Everett?" He asked rather rudely.

Carley's posture straightened and her cheerful mood dissipated into something much more defensive. "I am. And you are?" She asked eyeing the man and his disheveled look.

"Robert Knight. I'm here for Violet." He said in a disrespectful tone wanting to cut the bullshit and get to the point.

Carley was surprised by this and felt a hint of worry creep up on her, but she didn't show it. She looked to the other side of the door at Lee and the girls, her eyes fixing on Violet, before turning back to talk to Robert.

"I'm sorry Mr. Knight, but Violet wasn't supposed to go home until tomorrow. I don't know if you were aware or not, but the girls wanted to have a sleepover." Carley hoped this sorry excuse for a father took the explanation and left. She really didn't want to send Violet home with him if she could help it.

Robert grunted in annoyance. "Yeah, I know. But somethin's...come up." His gaze drifted to the window even though he couldn't see inside. A glare set as if to penetrate through the walls and intimidate whoever was on the other side. He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "If you could hurry and grab her now." He ordered.

Carley wanted nothing more than to run him into the ground right then and there but she kept the facade together. From what she's heard Carley was surprised he was sober enough to have a remotely decent conversation with her even if he was quite rude. "Excuse me for a second, Mr. Knight."

She stepped back and closed the door, her heart sunk as she looked to the rest of the people in the room. She slowly walked up to the young teen. "Violet I want you to go upstairs and grab your bag. Your father's come to take you home."

Violet shook her head. "No, no, please! Don't let him take me!" She backed away from the reporter, tears threatening to make another appearance.

"Violet, it's going to be okay. Just grab your things and everything will be fine." Carley reassured though she knew she couldn't promise that.

Knowing she didn't have a choice Violet reluctantly agreed and dragged her feet up the stairs to get her backpack.

Lee glared at the man outside, his fist shaking with rage. He went to take a step forward, but Carley's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Don't, not right now." Her look causing him to stop.

Clem decided to speak up since no one seemed to be too keen on stopping anything. "You-your not going to let him take her right? You can't let her leave with him."

Carley sent her a guilty look. "Honey, there's nothing we can do." She put her hand on Clem's shoulder. She would prevent Violet's departure if she could, but they had no power over that at the moment. None of them had actually seen her dad lay a hand on her. For all they knew, Violet had actually fallen down the stairs and her dad hitting her could have been a lie. Not that Carley believed that one bit. But he was still her father and what he says goes as of this moment.

But Clem would have none of it. She pulled away angered by her parent's lack of resistance. "No. That-that's not fair!"

"Clem..." Lee tried to calm her.

She shook her head. "No, that...that's bullshit!" She yelled.

"Clementine!" Lee warned knowing she wasn't supposed to swear at home. "That's enough."

Clem glared at her parents. She knew she wouldn't win this battle. She had no choice but to submit to their authority, so she dropped it then and there. She was supposed to protect Violet, they all were. How was she supposed to do that if they sent her away? They might as well have been dropping her in the hands of the devil himself.

Violet returned a moment later with her backpack strung over her right shoulder. Carley placed a hand over her shoulder and escorted her to the door. She glanced at Clem who sent her an apologetic look as she continued her death march towards the door.

Clem stood back her mind screaming at her to do something. She racked her brain for a solution, but she also didn't want to make things worse for Violet. There wasn't much she could do at the moment without making things worse for one of them, except to offer some encouragement. "Wait!" Clem yelled sprinting towards Violet. She stopped the girl in her tracks and grabbing her shoulders and bringing Violet in for a hug. "I'll come back for you, okay." She promised as she released Violet from her grasp.

Violet smiled at her gesture and nodded as Clem moved out of the way so they could now get past. Violet appreciated Clem's words of reassurance, but she wasn't sure they could save her this time.

Carley opened the door once more and Violet got her first look at her father. First thing she noticed was the very clear black smudge surrounding his left eye. She knew it. Lee had a hand in this. His intentions may have been good, but it was only going to make things worse for her.

Robert caught her staring and his glare pierced through her soul getting Violet to drop her gaze to the floor. She'd really done it now. "Thank you, Mrs. Everett." He said though she could tell it was forced. He brought a hand to Violet's shoulder pulling her closer to him, his fingers gripping her tight. Violet giving a slight grunt of discomfort. "Will be going now."

Carley reluctantly closed the door, but she'd make sure to watch from the window.

Robert turned and gave Violet a slight push to make her walk forward. "Ya know, you're fucking lucky your mother wasn't home when that bastard showed up at our house." He told her as they walked towards the car. "Son of a bitch threatens me in my house n' has the nerve to punch me in my fucking eye." He ranted on.

Violet didn't care. As long as his mouth ran it meant his fists stayed motionless...most of the time.

"Now how do ya think he knew bout our little spat, hmm?" He asked her.

She didn't answer, keeping her gaze to the ground.  _Don't fight back, it just makes it worse._  She told herself.

"You gonna answer me, girl?" He warned. "You tell him what happened?"

_Just don't fight back. Don't fight back._

"Answer me, Violet!" He yelled gritting his teeth.

"I didn't tell anyone anything." She mumbled. Technically Carley had put the pieces together before she had even admitted to anything.

He stopped right at the car blocking his daughter's path. "Unfucking believable, you gonna lie right to my face then?" He towered over her easily. "Don't test me, girl. You're in big trouble once we get home."

"I'm not lying!" She pleaded, just wanting him to stop. But she knew she had screwed up once she yelled the words out instead of just saying them. "Wait, I-I didn't mean..." Her heart rate quickening as fear flooded through her veins. She took a tentative step back. "Daddy, please..."

"I thought I told you to fucking listen to me when I'm talking to you. This is your fucking fault!" He grabbed her arm again and ripped her backpack off of her. "Now you gonna raise your voice at me! Guess you still haven't learned your lesson." He shoved her to the ground and rared back his fist to hit her again.

Violet whimpered and felt a warm liquid run down her legs.

Back inside the house, a different story played out.

Taking notice of what was going on outside, Lee ran out the door and up to the abusive man. He raised his own fist. "Don't touch her you son of a bitch!" And punched Violet's dad square in the jaw.

Violet scampered to her feet to get away from her dad's rath while she could. That's when she noticed Carley approaching her. "Come back inside Violet." She led the blonde haired girl back into the house. There was no way he was taking her now. Not after seeing him threaten her first hand. Having video proof wasn't such a bad thing either. Thank you security cameras.

Clem ran up to them once they re-entered the house to check on her friend. "Vi, you okay?"

Violet wiped some tears from her eyes as Carley knelt down to her level to cheek on her. "He didn't hurt you did he?" She looked over the girl to make sure there were no new cuts or marks, slightly lifting up the sleeves of the long-sleeved green shirt she now wore. Then she took notice of Violet's jeans. "Oh honey, did you have an accident?"

Violet felt her face burn as she turned a deep shade of red, a few tears running down her cheeks. "I'm-I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't mean too." She cried, covering her face with her hands.

"No, sweetie, don't apologize. You were just scared. It's okay." Carley reassured rubbing her back gently. "Why don't you go up to Clem's room and change into a pair of her jeans, okay?"

Violet whimpered but nodded. She looked at Clem embarrassed, but the girl gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay. Come with me." She grabbed Violet by the hand and led her upstairs to her room, happy to have Violet back in the safety of her own house.

Meanwhile, Lee and her dad went at it in the front yard. Lee clearly winning with Violet's dad still being slightly tipsy, but not leaving without a few scuffs here and there. Her dad had been able to land one good punch to the left side of Lee's face, there'd definitely be a bruise there in the morning.

Lee hooked him hard causing him to stagger and lean up against the side of the car for support. "You ever touch that little girl again I'LL KILL YOU!"

Robert wiped some blood from the side of his mouth. "F-fuck you! You ain't her dad!" He tried to take another swing at Lee but lost his balance and ended up on his hands and knees out of breath.

"It's over!" Lee shouted at him.

Violet's dad struggled to his feet using the car for support. "Whatever! Fucking girl ain't worth the trouble." He stumbled over to the driver's side door. "She was just a fucking mistake anyway. Only causes trouble." Then he got in and drove away clearly pissed that he'd been beaten up by the same guy twice.

Lee sighed as he ran a hand through his short hair, before heading back inside to check on things. He was met with Carley first. "Hey, everything okay?" He looked around the room for a certain blonde. "Where are the girls?"

"Upstairs." Carley nodded in the direction behind her. "Clems helping Violet get cleaned up." She raised an eyebrow. "And Robert?"

Lee smiled at her. "Taken care of."

"Yeah, I can see that," Carley told him as she examined the cut on his face.

"Asshole thinks he can just treat a child like that," Lee grumbled.

Carley smiled at Lee's protective nature. "Luckily I have a big strong man who keeps things in check." She said as she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Damn right!" Lee agreed.

That's when they heard footsteps on the stairs. "Is he gone?" Clem asked as she reached the bottom. Violet hanging back behind her, still embarrassed and quite shaken up about what had just escalated into a huge fight.

"He's gone. I showed him what happens when he messes with my girls." Lee stated proudly winking at Violet, who sent him a slight smile. Happy to be on Lee's side of the spectrum.

"So is Violet still leaving tomorrow then?" Clem asked, curious about how this changed things.

Carley shook her head. "No, sweetie. Violet's not leaving anymore." She reached over and grabbed the phone from off the side table.

"What are you doing?" Clem asked.

"Calling the police," Carley explained as she dialed 911.

Violet wasn't too sure how to feel about that. She still felt incredibly uneasy about everything that had just played out mere minutes ago. Her dad had actually tried to hit her again. If Lee hadn't been there, she would have been injured even worse than before, maybe even dead. But if Lee never would have punched him, would this still have happened. Was it her fault for letting Clem and her family know about her abusive and destructive father.

Violet felt her breathing quicken as she clutched her locket to her chest. It was her fault, wasn't it? It was all her fault. She caused this. Everything was always her fault. She always made everything worse. A small whimper escaped her, catching Clementine's attention.

"Vi? It's okay. What's the matter?" She walked up to the blonde placing a hand upon her shoulder before pulling her into another hug. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

Violet didn't respond sealing her eyes shut as a few silent tears slipped out. This was just like when her grandmother had shot herself. That had been her fault too. The words repeating over and over. The blame always ending up on her no matter how she looked at it. Her dad had even said it to her face this time. Words that stung more than any other because they buried themselves deep under the surface because they always led back to the beginning of when it had all started. It had all started with a gunshot. And it was All. Her. Fault.

The gunshot being the only thing left that she could hear in her mind as she cried in Clem's arms.

Just a Bang! Bang! rolling off the tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if that ending sucked. It was a bit rushed.  
> Hopefully, the next chapter won't be so heavy hearted.
> 
> Secret Life of Writing Out! :)


	4. Counting The Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, last chapter. I know that sucks, right. I feel kind of terrible for putting Violet through all this depressing stuff, but everyone seems to love it. Never thought I'd get such supporting feedback from this. :)  
> And I owe a big thanks to Carrie Underwood and her song for being my inspiration.
> 
> Anyway, enough talk. Here you go.

**4 Years Later**

Clem entered through her front door with an all too familiar blonde trailing behind her. Two victims unsuspecting the hunters approach as he rounded another corner, gun in hand.

"So you ready for the geometry test next Wednesday?"

"Ha, geometry is the last thing on my mind." Violet scoffed as she threw her backpack onto Clem's couch. "Mr. Bridges doesn't even explain it right."

Clem rolled her eyes at Violet's comment. "Well, yeah. But that's why I told you I'd help you study."

Violet raised a brow placing a hand on her hip. "And here I thought you actually wanted to spend time with me. I should have known it was only about math." She teased.

He rounded another corner, ducking behind the counter. Careful not to make any sudden movements to alert the targets. Rifle held firmly in his hands so the end wouldn't knock against the wall giving away his position. Just a few feet closer.

"Well..." Clem walked over closer to the blonde unaware of their current stalker. She took Violet's hands in hers. "It doesn't all have to be about math. I'm sure we can fit some other things in as well." She leaned up slightly and pecked Violet on the cheek. "Afterall, what kind of girlfriend would I be if we didn't."

Violet smiled at Clem's sign of affection.

"Tell you what? Grab your backpack and will finish our homework now, then we can do whatever you want afterward. Deal?" Clem asked.

Violet smirked. "I like the sound of those odds." She went to lean in for another kiss, but both of them jumped at the sound of a yell.

"I've got you now!" AJ ran out from behind the kitchen counter and jumped in front of the two girls. He raised his rifle and cocked it back before pointing it at his trespassers. "Don't move! Put your hands up!"

Violet's eyes widened at the sight of the gun as her heart started to beat loudly in her chest. It was much smaller than the one she remembered. This one wasn't even real, it was only a toy, but the resemblance still spiked the fear that was hidden beneath. Her breathing started to pick up as it came out in shaky exhales.

She tried to remind herself that it wasn't real. There was no smoke, no bullet, no shock from the trigger when you pulled it. No pain, no damage could be done. It was just a toy, it wasn't real.

Seeing as no one complied with his terms AJ pulled the trigger and the bang of the shotgun sound effect came through a speaker on the butt of the rifle. "Bang! Gotcha!"

Violet gasped and latched onto Clem's hand. Images from years ago flashed through her mind. Dreaded memories that she had tried to forget, but were brought back so easily with the simple sound of a gun.

Clem stood shocked, completely off guard, but the shaking from the girl next to her brought back her senses.  _Shit! Violet's fear of guns._

Her protective side kicked in. "AJ! Put the gun down!" She shouted at him.

AJ looked up at Clem his smile disappearing, feeling hurt at her harsh words. "But, Clem we always play shoot'em up, cowboys."

Clem shook her head. "We do. But you know you're not supposed to have them out when Violet's over."

Clem knew Violet had a thing about guns, but she never knew why. She knew Violet went through something when she was younger, but she respected Violet's privacy enough not to ask what had happened. She wouldn't push her into opening up if she didn't want to. Clem and her family had already crossed that boundary once back when she and Vi were like twelve, which had probably saved Violet's life if she was being honest. Now she had no need to intrude in on Violet's personal seclusion considering she wasn't being beaten up and threatened by some alcoholic abusing asshole.

She turned to the blonde behind her who was too scared to move. "Vi? Violet, it's okay. It's not real babe."

She went to place a hand on her shoulder feeling the slightly older girl shake under her touch. Clem pulled Violet closer and brought her in for a hug feeling the blonde wrap her arms around her. "Hey, it's okay. Everythings fine. It's not real." She rubbed Violet's back reassuringly.

Violet finally found her voice even if it cracked when she spoke. "I-I know. I-I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't mean..."

Clem pulled back to look into Violet's eyes. Green met gold as she spoke. "Hey...It's okay."

Violet nodded in understanding.

Clem turned back to her little brother. "Go and put that back in your room, okay?"

AJ nodded before he ran up the stairs and back into his bedroom not wanting to cause any more trouble. He'd probably get a stern talking to from Lee and Carley later that evening.

"Why don't you head up to my room. I'll grab us something to drink." Clem told her girlfriend.

Violet slowly nodded, seeming dazed as if she had just woken from a dream. She fingered the locket around her neck. "Y-yeah...alright." She grabbed her backpack and headed for the stairs.

Clem watched Vi leave before she walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. She grabbed two cans of cherry seven up then stopped in the living room to pick up her backpack that had been left by the door. Clem made her way upstairs finding her bedroom door open which made things easier since her hands were full. "So Vi, I was thinking..."

She stopped once she entered the room finding it empty. "Vi?" All that remained of the blonde girl was her bag that had been tossed onto Clem's desk chair. A slight breeze caught Clem's attention as she realized that the window was wide open causing her curtains to blow in the light wind. Clem smiled to herself as she slid off her backpack letting it fall to the floor. Still clutching the soda cans in her hand, she made her way to the window. She ducked her head through it and turned so she was sitting on the ledge, then gripping the side with one hand to keep her balance she stood up and now had a clear view of the roof. A before lost, now found blonde sat at the roof's edge, one leg dangling off the side while the other was brought up towards her chest.

"Hey..." Clem called out getting the attention of the other girl.

"Hey." Came Violet's unenthusiastic reply.

Clem gripped the edge of the roof and hoisted herself up to sit next to her girlfriend. "Whatcha doin' up here?" She asked.

Violet shrugged as she looked up at the sky. "Cloud gazing." She didn't bother to look at Clem when she responded.

Clem smiled, knowing Violet liked to come up here and think. They always liked to sit up here and just talk for hours on end, usually late into the night when the stars were out. Then they'ed play a game where they would make up their own constellations and assign different personalities to them and compare it to someone they knew who they thought fit the description. But even better, this is where Clem and Violet had shared their first real kiss. It brought sparks of joy to bloom inside the brunette's heart just at the thought.

"Here! I brought you this." Clem handed her one of the soda cans and popped the top on her own.

"Thanks." Violet accepted the drink but made no move to open it or reach Clem's gaze.

Instead, Clem watched Violet rub her thumb across the surface of her locket. Something she learned to pick up on over the years. "So...wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"N-nothings wrong." Violet tried to play off, as she stared at the ground below them, but Clementine knew her better than that.

She knew Violet wasn't one to just open up and talk about what was upsetting her. Who could blame her after what happened when she was younger. Her dad had literally beaten her up and had gone so far as to have cracked her ribs. The girl had been terrified to tell anyone what had been going on at home for fear of her dad finding out and taking it out on her with a raised fist.

Clem nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm here if you wanna talk. I'm not going anywhere." She took a swing of her soda, then stared up at the clouds finding one that looked like a rabbit as the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. She knew her girlfriend, Violet just needed time to build up the courage to tell her. Something was obviously conflicting the blonde. She had been a little off this whole week and especially today, even before everything that had happened downstairs just a few minutes prior.

After a good few minutes, Violet finally broke the silence grabbing the brunette's attention. "Hey...uh...sorry if I was weird before or...whatever. I...um..." Violet looked away embarrassed. "I thought...I thought I was over it, but I guess..."

Clem set her drink down beside her, careful so it didn't fall off the slanted roof. "Vi, you were perfectly fine. You don't have to apologize. I understand."

It had been such a long time since she had gone into a panic like that. She thought she had found a way, that she'd finally found a way out of her oppression. No longer letting fear control her life. But it never seems to go away, so she guessed it had to stay now. She hoped someday she'd make it out, even if it took all night or a hundred years. She had regained control of her kingdom and taken down the terrible beast that had posed a threat, but that didn't mean ruling was an easy task. Gaining control was one thing, but  _staying_  in control was another.

Violet sighed, frustrated with her self, clenching her fist. "It-it's not that, I just...It's been six years. Six years and I still can't be in the same room as a fucking gun without freaking out." She put her head in her hands. "It wasn't even real and I still froze up."

Clem wasn't sure what to say about the first part seeing as she still had no idea why Violet hated guns and what caused her to be so afraid of them. But she could still show her support. "Violet, it's alright if it still scares you. Whatever happened, happened and no one thinks any less of you for it."

Violet removed her hands and slowly met Clem's gaze. Clem could see the glint of tears wanting to break through and fall. "My dad did."

Clem wasn't quite sure how to respond to that and stayed silent.

Violet took in a deep breath. "Can I tell you something..." She fiddled with her locket. "...personal."

Clem nodded in understanding. "Of course, Vi. I'm here to listen to whatever you have to say."

Violet nodded and drew in another deep breath before starting. "I-I spent a lot of time at my grandma's house growing up, with my parents busy with work and stuff. But...um..after my grandpa died, grandma just kinda...shut down. Spent all day rocking in her chair. I'd sit there at her feet as we both watched TV, mostly cartoons since she never seemed to care."

Violet looked to Clem to see her still listening to every word that poured out of her mouth before shifting her gaze back towards the ground at the flower garden in the backyard. The bright red tulips slightly swaying in the breeze. "Anyway, one day she left the living room and came back with another chair and grandpa's .22 rifle. Set the rifle butt on the top of that chair, holding the barrel back to her chest. She had trouble reaching the trigger this way, but she must of known it would happen...Because she took out this really tacky, wooden backscratcher...and uh...used that to push the t-trigger in."

Violet didn't dare look at Clem as she felt something wet run down the side of her face. "So...yeah. Bang. Right? Her body folded up and just... kept... rocking. My mom came to get me five hours later, I hadn't moved. She asked me why I didn't call the police or an ambulance or anything." Violet tried to brush away some tears, but they were quickly replaced by new ones. "I-I don't know why I didn't...I just...I was so fucking scared when she pulled out that gun."

She sucked in a breath and exhaled shakily. "I-I was eleven at the time...an-and after that...everything just sort of, went downhill from there. He never said it, but I knew my dad blamed me for what happened with his parents. That's when the drinking started...a-and the fighting and the arguing and then the..."

Violet stopped unable to finish her sentence as tears streamed down her face. It wasn't like she needed to anyway. Clem knew how this story ended. With a traumatized twelve-year-old and a fist ready to strike. Then again the words had always still hurt more than the physical blows.

Physical abuse left marks and scars across once perfect skin, leaving a trail for people to see the damage that had been done. But the verbal carnage was something unlike any other, leaving feelings in its wake that Violet wasn't even sure she could put into words. No one could understand the internal hurt that she had carried on her shoulders. Her ribs had healed and the bruising had faded away, but that was the thing, wounds heal. But nothing would ever replace the mental scars that cluttered her mind. No matter how she tried to rid her mind of it, to let go of that feeling, to let go of the fear, it always still lingered in the shadows. That was the thing about traumatic experiences, she guessed. How could you just forget something like that?

Clem leaned over and brought Violet in for a hug which she accepted. "I'm so sorry, Vi. I can't believe you had to go through that."

"Thanks. I...uh...I've been afraid of guns ever since then." Violet sniffled and wrapped her arms around herself. "Sorry...it-it just brings back painful memories."

Clem gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't be sorry, babe. I get it." Clem rolled up her sleeve revealing a long scar across her arm. She ran her fingers across the jagged mark. "I got attacked by a dog when I was eleven. It took me a long time to be okay with them again. Even now I still have moments where I get scared. Remember when I first met Rosie when Marlon brought her over to Louis's house?"

Violet let a slight smile form. "Yeah, I thought you were gonna use that kitchen knife to stab her."

Clem let out a slight chuckle while she took a sip of her drink. "Well yeah, I was scared that she was gonna attack me...buuut after I got to know her I wasn't as afraid anymore." Clem reached out to grab Violet's hand and intertwined their fingers. "And maybe one day you won't be afraid either. We can work on it." She leaned over and placed a kiss on Violet's cheek. "Baby steps."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Alright, so it's okay to be scared. I get it." She gave Clem a smile. "But trying to fix things might not be such a bad idea." She admitted.

Clem kissed the tip of Violet's nose. "That's my girl."

Violet's face turned a light shade of pink. She turned away to hide it from Clem, but her smile was still present. If anyone could help her overcome her fears it was Clem. She had sworn to protect her four years ago and that wasn't about to change now.

They fell into silence once more. Clem thought they had finally fixed things when she saw Violet fiddle with her necklace once more, feeling the grooves that had been engraved into a pattern across the front of the case. "I'm guessing you have more you wanna tell me."

Violet's eyes widened in surprise at that. "H-how do you know?"

Clem smirked. "You're doing it again."

Violet gave her a confused look, oblivious as she naturally turned her locket over with her fingers. "Doing what?"

Clem mimicked Violet's actions. "Your locket. You always mess with it whenever you're nervous."

Violet blushed at being caught in the action and her hand dropped down to her lap. "Oh...uh...Y-yeah. I-I guess I do." She'd have to remember not to do that anymore. Though it'd been a habit for years. Easier said than done.

Clem smiled at seeing her girlfriend all flustered. It was adorable whenever Vi got embarrassed around her. "It's alright. I find it kinda cute."

This only added to the blonde's embarrassment as her blush deepened. Which only got Clem to smile more. She leaned back using her hands to prop herself up giving her girlfriend her undivided attention. "So what's wrong?"

Violet sighed as she crossed her legs staring at her lap. "My dad."

"What about him?" Clem tried to hide the venom in her voice as the subject of Robert came up.  _Fuck that asshole._

"We got a phone call last weekend..." Violet looked over at Clem to see her reaction. "He...he says he wants to see me."

"Oh?"

Clem didn't like the sound of that. Sure he couldn't hurt her anymore, but that didn't stop Clem's protective side from taking over. After that fight on her front lawn, Carley had called the police showing them the footage from the security cameras of Robert attacking his own daughter. No questions asked the marks on Violet's sides and arms were enough to throw that son of a bitch in jail for a good ten years, not to mention the alcohol abuse as well. They showed up at Violet's house and cuffed him.

To say Violet's mom was shocked was an understatement. Stephanie never knew about the physical harm that had been brought on to their daughter. Violet had always kept everything secret for fear of the consequences, and Robert sure as hell wouldn't have told her. From then on she promised Violet that everything would be different. She was done with the arguing and the fighting. The drinking had already been enough for her to end things, but she wouldn't stand for the neglect towards her daughter and signed for a divorce. Steph had hoped that the drinking would have stopped one day, but sometimes when people break...there's no stitching them back together.

"Sooo...are you going to?" Clem asked. Even if she didn't agree with it, she couldn't stop Violet from going if she really wanted to.

Violet bit her lip in indecision. "My mom couldn't care less if he rots in that jail cell. She wants nothing to do with him after everything he put us through." She looked down at her shoes. "After what he did to me...that was it. Whatever they had before was gone." Violet ran her fingers across the rough surface of the shingles not meeting Clem's eyes. "But she said that she'd take me if I really wanted to."

Clem looked expectantly at the older girl. "Do you?"

Violet rubbed the side of her arm as she brought her knees up to her chest. "W-would you hate me if I did?"

That seemed to alarm Clem, not because she thought Violet shouldn't visit her father, but the latter. "No, of course not Vi. I mean I don't know what he was like before he turned into a shit head of a father, but I know things weren't always bad between you. Does that mean you do?" Clem asked gently.

Violet whimpered. "I don't know?" She crossed her arms over her knees and buried her face in them as her eyes started to water once more.

Her feelings were so fucked up. She should be angry about what had happened. She had been physically beaten. Bruises had literally covered the entire top half of her body. The guy had broken her fucking ribs for crying out loud. He had threatened her, yelled at her, pushed her, punched her, and blamed her for everything. So why was a part of her still fighting to give him another chance? Did a part of her really still hold on to that picture of a flawless family? Was there something wrong with her? Maybe there'd always been something wrong with her, after all, everything was always her fault.

_Shut up. It wasn't your fault._ _It's over, he can't make you feel that way anymore...Then why does it still hurt?_ Tears continued to spill from her eyes. Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't she just hate his guts and be done with it?

Violet felt a hand on her back. She glanced up with blurred eyes meeting the understanding smile from Clem. She didn't even think as she threw her arms around the brunette and cried into her shirt, Clem rubbing her back soothingly. "I'm here, it's okay." Clem tucked a strand of hair behind Violet's ear. "No one can hurt you anymore."

Clem waited till Violet calmed down, just rubbing her back and letting her cry. She couldn't blame her for feeling this way, if she was in Violet's shoes she'd probably be just as conflicted.

Violet had finally calmed down, her breakdown coming to a slow. She stayed in Clementine's embrace with her head resting on her chest. "I'm sorry."

Clem shook her head but smiled. "You've gotta stop apologizing babe. If I didn't want to be soaked with salt water I wouldn't be here." She lightly teased getting an eye roll from Violet. "You okay, though?"

Violet sighed looking out towards the sunset that had started to take over the sky. "I...I don't know how to answer that." She sat up getting Clem to remove her arm from around her. She rubbed her sleeve across her face to remove some of the tear-stained marks. "It's just...difficult. I-I guess a part of me still remembers a guy who gave a shit, you know?" She looked to the heart-shaped locket around her neck. "I guess a part of me has always held onto the past. Wishing things could go back to the way they used to be."

Clem nodded. "I know...it sucks."

"What...um...What do you think I should do?" Violet asked unsure of her decision.

Clem wrapped her arms around her legs and stared out into the sunset. "If you're asking me what  _I_  would do, I'd say he got what he disserves and never speak to that son of a bitch again." She turned her attention back towards Violet. "But you're asking me what  _you_  should do, and that's a decision you have to make for yourself."

Violet looked down at the ground again and Clem could see the struggle in her eyes as she battled it out in her mind. "I can't tell you what to feel, Vi. He's not  _my_  dad, and I wasn't the one who was abused." Clem reached out a hand and lifted Violet's chin to meet her gaze. "You were. And that's not something I can relate to."

Violet stared into Clem's amber eyes looking for some kind of answer before averting her gaze. Clem was right, and it sucked that no one but her could answer it.

"But...if you decide that you want to talk to him, I can go with you...that is if you want." Clem offered.

Violet's eyes livened up at her girlfriend's offer. "You'd do that, for me?"

Clem brought her hand to Violet's cheek leaning in closely to whisper softly. Violet could feel her warm breath against her lips as she spoke. "I'd do anything for you, babe." Then she slowly leaned in and captured Violet's lips in a heated kiss.

Violet closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the feeling. That feeling of pure bliss, that only Clementine could make her feel. The way she'd feel after Clem would kiss her leaving her with a racing heart and lips tingling with desire for more. The way it'd send shivers down her spine when she'd suddenly move from little slow kisses to a more passionate one leaving her breathless at the end.

She wrapped her arms around Clem's neck deepening the kiss. Violet realized that this is what she wanted, right here, in this moment. There was nothing else. Just her and Clementine. Nothing else mattered. She needed to let go of the past, to leave it behind and live in the present. What had happened, happened. She couldn't change that, but she could decide where she went from here.

Violet pulled apart slowly, arms still wrapped around Clem's neck, lips still inches apart. "You know what? Fuck that guy! It's time I focused on more important things."

Clem grinned. "That's my girl." She placed another kiss to Violet's lips. "No one hurts my flower."

Violet's face was overrun with red, getting flustered at her girlfriend's words. "Shut up, orange."

"Aww, Violet's embarrassed," Clem said tucking another blonde lock behind Violet's ear.

Violet covered her face with her hands to hide her blush. "Cleeem, stop!."

Clem smirked pulling Violet's hands from her face. "You know you love me."

Violet chuckled. "I do. Which is why I wanna show you something."

Clem backed off and allowed Violet to move. She watched as the blonde unclipped her necklace from around her neck, leaving it in the palm of her hand. The gold casing glistening in the light of the setting sun. She knew that locket meant the world to Violet. It having contained a photo of her family from years ago before all the problems had started. The girl had taken extremely good care of it over the years to keep it in such good condition.

Violet carefully unclasped the sides and opened the golden locket revealing the inside which caused Clem to gasp and bring a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Violet."

Instead of the family picture that Violet had treasured so much, it contained a photo of her and Clementine. Violet's arms wrapped around Clem from behind while her chin rested on top of her head as they both wore smiles across there faces. One of Violet's favorite memories of the two of them together from when they had gone to the park.

"I always kept that photo with me because it reminded me of the way things were. It was something close to me, something important." She looked away from the heart-shaped locket then back to Clem. "But...your what's important to me. I love you, Clementine."

Clem felt like she wanted to cry staring at Violet's touching gesture. This was a big deal for the girl, that locket meant everything to her, and now Clementine's picture resided in it. She meant that much to Vi that she had put her picture in something as personal as her locket? As in the locket, she took everywhere? The golden heart-shaped one that she never took off?

"God, Vi...I-I don't...have the words. I-I love you too." Clem landed a quick kiss on Violet's cheek. "Thank you. When did you...?"

Violet traced her thumb across the outline of the heart shape. "I'd been debating for a while, but...after we got that phone call. I got really...upset. I was furious at my dad for what had happened and...confused. So I took out the old photo and replaced it with someone I actually care about." She smiled up at Clementine, but it was soon replaced by a guilty one. "And I...uh...I may have used a baseball bat to...um...shatter the headlights on his car. I was...really frustrated." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Holy shit, Vi. What'd your mom say?" Clem was kind of impressed. Ever since that day four years ago she'd wanted to take a baseball bat to Robert's face. She felt kinda proud of Violet for doing that.

"Yeah...um...about that...My mom actually took it pretty well." Violet explained. "The car hasn't worked for almost six months now so we were going to get rid of it anyway. And she understands how...hard this has been for me." Vi chuckled a bit. "Though I'm pretty sure she wanted to smash the windshield just as much as I did."

Clem laughed. "I would too."

There was a moment of silence before Clem spoke up again. "I'm glad you were able to figure all of this out. I know it's been hard...on you. And I just want you to know that...I'm always here for you if you need it." Clem said getting slightly flustered.

Violet smiled closing her locket. "Stay with me?"

Clem grabbed Violet's hand and interlocked their fingers. "Always."

Both girls smiled at each other getting lost in the other's eyes. That is until the voice of someone broke the silence. "Girls! You up there?" It was Lee searching for them.

Clem cleared her throat before replying. "Uh...Yeah, Dad! Were here!"

"Alright, come on down! Dinners ready!" He yelled from Clem's bedroom window.

"Alright! Thank you!" Clem replied as Lee walked away. She sighed. "Looks like we better get down there or else my mom's gonna have a conniption fit."

Clem went to stand up but Violet pulled her back down. "Wait!" Violet pulled her in for one last kiss, which Clem didn't fight as she let Violet have full control. She smiled as they parted. "I love you, Clem."

Clem smiled. "I love you back."

* * *

Later that night Clem and Violet found there way back on the roof, gazing at the endless ocean of stars that littered the sky. This time with Violet in a much better mood now that she no longer had to worry about the troubles of her abusive father and all the shit that he's caused.

"There!" She pointed to a cluster of stars towards there left. "It's a wolf."

Clem leaned over and followed her sight line, her brain putting the sparkling dots into the picture her girlfriend described. "Nice one! Remind you of anyone?"

"Well..."

"And don't say Rosie because she's a dog." Clem stopped her before she could say it.

"I wasn't going to..."

Clem gave her a look.

"Okay, I was," Violet admitted. "You describe it then," Violet told her wondering what she'd come up with.

"Alright, I will then." Clem took a minute to think. "Protective, loyal, brave even though they have trouble facing their fears. Always able to get back up no matter what's thrown at them. Fierce, yet gentle. Starting to get the picture?"

Vi looked up at the constellation trying to piece things together.. "Uhhh...Is it...Lee?"

Clem shook her head. "Nope. It's you."

Violet looked at her confused. "Clem that...that's not me." She turned away from her girlfriend ashamed. "I-I'm not brave." She rubbed her arm nervously.

Clem reached out a hand and rested it atop Violet's shoulder. "But you are, Vi. You went through hell and back and even though you were scared, you never gave up. You kept fighting and you made it out. You learned how to overcome a bad experience. Not just anyone could do what you did. Your the bravest person I know."

Violet flushed slightly. "I  _am_  not. Lee was the one who punched my dad."

"Yeah, and you were the one who got punched. And you still fought back even if you don't see it in that way. You're a survivor Vi." Clem told her.

Violet sighed. "You're not gonna let this one go, are you?"

Clem giggled. "Nope!"

Violet rolled her eyes. "Okay, so I'm a wolf. Happy?"

"Hmm...I thought you were a flower." Clem teased her holding back a laugh.

Violet gave her a light shove. "I swear to god, Clem."

"Aww, Vi," Clem said in her teasing voice. "You getting all embarrassed again?"

Violet felt her face burn at the words.  _Dammit, Clem._ She covered her face with her hands again. "Well if your gonna say it like that!" She whined. Why did Clem have to have this effect on her?

Clem couldn't help but giggle at Violet's shyness. It was too freaking adorable. "I'm just teasing you, babe. Though you're super cute when you're embarrassed."

"I'm going to get you back one of these days," Violet informed her.

"And when that day comes I'll finally stop teasing you," Clem exclaimed.

"Careful what you wish for," Violet warned.

That's when something caught the corner of Clem's eye. "Speaking of  _wish._ Check it out! A shooting star." She pointed at the sky as something shot across the dark blue abyss. "Why don't you make a whish Vi."

Violet smiled. "I don't need to wish for anything. I've already got everything I need right here." She placed her hand over Clementine's.

"While that's really sweet, you're still saying you wouldn't wish for anything? Anything at all?" Clem wanted to know. She smirked when she saw the gears starting to turn in Violet's head.

"This is going to sound stupid, but...If you would of asked me that four years ago. I would of said 'I wish words were like little toy guns'."

Clem didn't say anything as she and Violet stared up at the sky. She could understand where Violet was coming from. It really made her happy to see how far she had come.

Violet's words came out in a whisper. "Just a Bang, Bang, rolling off your tongue."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we made it! Yay! And of course, we had to end it with that famous line at the end just like the rest of the chapters. ;)  
> I hope the ending lived up to the rest of the story. I had to end it on a happy note or else I'd never forgive myself.
> 
> I also realized that this is like my only story with Lee and Carley in it. Lee's been mentioned in my other stories, but this is the only one were he actually had a speaking part. lol So I hope I got his character right.
> 
> Anyway, sorry this has to end. And even though it was really sad and depressing and I did feel terrible for putting Violet through all that, I still had an awesome time writing this. Thanks for the amazing feedback I've been getting. Though I am curious to know if anyone actually listens to the song that this was based on while they read it. That's what I do. ;)
> 
> Secret Life of Writing Out! :)


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